


Don't Listen to The Things They Say (The Screams All Sound The Same)

by Pillar144, REFRIDGERATOR



Series: just the two of us (we can make it if we try) [5]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Drunkenness, Ear Rubs?! 😳, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Ghost JSchlatt, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Ear Piercings, Past Abuse, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Platonic Cuddling, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28125975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pillar144/pseuds/Pillar144, https://archiveofourown.org/users/REFRIDGERATOR/pseuds/REFRIDGERATOR
Summary: By the time Quackity tried to apologize it was already too late for him- his head swam with too many suppressed memories from his life. He stepped back when his hand was pushed away, he held his head with one hand and used the other to support himself with the couch, mumbling to himself to try and keep himself together- failing miserably.-- OR --Quackity comes home drunk. GhostSchlatt remembers.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Jschlatt, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: just the two of us (we can make it if we try) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051355
Comments: 4
Kudos: 180





	Don't Listen to The Things They Say (The Screams All Sound The Same)

**Author's Note:**

> TW// Past Alcoholism/Abuse, One intoxicated Idiot, and Panic Attacks 
> 
> I recommend reading this series in order! <3

Quackity fiddled with the doorknob, home after going to a celebratory butcher gang meeting. Once he had got it open, he stumbled in, accidentally slamming it behind him as he entered the house. He sniffled and grinned, calling out his ghost roommate.  
"SCHLATT!" He yelled, most likely too loud because he was having trouble controlling his volume after drinking one too many bottles of alcohol. "I'M BACK!"  
After he had shouted to the dead man, he fell onto the couch, giggling to himself about nothing. He messed with his sleeves as he waited for his friend to come downstairs.

The ghost smiled when he initially heard the door open. He stood up from his spot on the floor where he had been reading books to keep himself busy while Quackity was out doing his job and such. When he started down the stairs he heard the door slam and random giggling when nothing funny had been said. It was all too familiar when he finally walked into the main room and found the man giggling on the couch.  
"..Quackity, a-are you alright?" His voice was a lot shakier than he wanted it to be- he wasn't scared. He shouldn't be- why was he scared? Quackity hadn't done anything, and he knew that he wouldn't. His ears were flat against his head in nervousness when he realized what this reminded him of.

The tipsy man looked up at Schlatt once he had come downstairs, a grin plastered across his face. He sat up and swung his legs over the couch, eyes slightly unfocused as he faced the ghost. Unfortunately, he was drunk enough that he didn't pick up on the cues that Schlatt was nervous- instead just starting to ramble a bit.  
"C-course I am." He snorted, barely noticing his own stuttering. "Just had a couple of drinks at the meeting. It was celebratory! We found the direction of T-techno's base is. Isn't that great?" He babbled, making random hand motions in the air. "So Fundy brought out some a-alcohol and I couldn't help myself. Tubbo didn't drink though. I think he might've gotten apple juice or something? Whatever the kid likes to drink that’s not i-illegal. Don't wanna get arrested." He joked, laughing.

He nods a bit, his anxiety spiking as he slowly approached Quackity and offered him a hand- hoping to get the drunken man asleep before he had a full-on flashback.  
"Let’s.. uh- let’s get you to bed, alright?" He almost winced at the smell of alcohol on the other’s breath.  
 _"Your fucking useless, help me up already," His brain was fuzzy, and everything felt warm- he barely registered the words coming out of his mouth. Something hurt in his chest, probably a side effect of his recent increase in the amount he drank. Who was he yelling at? It didn't matter- they were probably plotting behind his back like everyone else. They deserved it-_  
Schlatt shook away the unwanted memory, holding away the emotion attached to it as if his life depended on it. Just focus on getting Alex in bed- safe- and in bed. He told himself,

He pushed Schlatt's hand away, maybe more forcefully than he meant, shaking his head. "I don't need to go to bed." Quackity protested. "Sleep is fucking useless! Who needs sleep? No one." He rolled his eyes, standing up. He stumbled a bit but quickly regained his balance. "See? I'm fine. I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's!" He meant it as a joke, but as soon as he said it out loud he realized it sounded harsh. He shook his head again, making him dizzy, so he fell back on the couch. "Well- erm- not like that."

By the time Quackity tried to apologize it was already to late for him- his head swam with too many suppressed memories from his life. He stepped back when his hand was pushed away, he held his head with one hand and used the other to support himself with the couch, mumbling to himself to try and keep himself together- failing miserably.  
 _"Schlatt stop!" The words barely reached the drunk's ears. His mind was buzzing, grief-stricken by the discovery that Tubbo- his dear secretary- had betrayed him. And for so long at that. He raised the pickaxe above his head again and struck the white house that Quackity had put so much time into building again._  
 _"Fucking hell Schlatt! Stop- please!" Uncontrollable anger bubbled in his gut as he spun on Quackity- dropping the pickaxe and walking up to the vice, pressing his finger into the other’s chest._  
 _"Why!? What're you gon'na do about huh!? You can't fucking stop me! You won't- and you know it." His voice was raspy and he slurred just about every other word, but his anger was still easily understood. When Quackity didn't respond he smirked, and raised his hand-_  
When he shook himself out of it, the ghost found himself basically falling onto the floor, pulling on his ears and all but screaming out in remorse. Tears flowed down his cheeks- a misty grey type of liquid instead of normal tears. His knees pulled up to his chest and he put his head in between them- shaking as he profusely apologized for his past mistakes.

Quackity jumped in surprise at the (seemingly) sudden change in Schlatt, eyes widening as the ghost crumpled to the floor. He glanced around frantically, though he didn't know what he was looking for, his gaze snapping back to the sobbing man when he started screaming. He winced, a guilty feeling invading his brain and he stumbled off the couch to his feet again, his foggy mind unsure of what to do. _Fuck. Did I do something? I didn't mean too- shit._  
A light-headedness washed over him so he opted to sit in front of the distraught man, hands hovering in the air slightly. "U-uh, S-schlatt?" he mumbled uselessly, sounding extremely concerned. "What- Don't, don't pull on your ears."

Schlatt had stopped screaming at this point- his body was just being wracked with guilt-filled sobs. When Quackity spoke his gaze moved onto the concerned man. Letting go of his ears he pushed himself further from the other, pushing his palms against the wooden floor.  
"No- no- go away please, I'm sorry-" He continued to mumble apologies even after he had stopped going in the other direction. Not once did he make eye contact with Alex- even as he hiccuped and sobbed apologies.

"S-sorry?" Quackity repeated, confused. "What are you sorry about? There's- you didn't do a-anything." He furrowed his brows, lowering his arms and sitting back on his knees. Maybe he was crowding him a little bit.  
He panicked a bit when Schlatt continued sobbing, clenching his fists. _What'd he do for me? Shit, shit, uhm.._  
"Okay, Schlatt- uh.." He glanced away and then back at him nervously. "I think- I mean, you- B-breathe." He pathetically spit out. "Copy me."  
The short man began to exaggerate his breathing, tapping his leg to keep a steady rhythm- half for his drunken mind and half for the ghost's sake.

Schlatt hesitantly nodded, seemingly confused that Quackity wasn't mad at him- but followed along with the breathing exercise. Occasionally his hiccups would interrupt and send him coughing, but overall it seemed to calm him. Bringing him down from sobbing to just mildly crying and shaking. The question registered in his mind finally- even if it had been a minute or two already.  
"I-I hit y..you," He managed out before his voice broke and he went quiet, pulling his knees back to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Gripping his sweater sleeves as he did. The ghost still seemed to shake lightly- but he was also slowly getting his grip back onto reality

"You-" Quackity reeled back a bit, not out of anger or anything, he was just surprised. "No, you didn't..?" It almost came out a question, the confused man wondering if he had missed something. He shifted so he was criss-cross instead, getting more comfortable on the floor.  
"Schlatt, you didn't do anything." He reassured, hesitantly placing his hand on the ghost's knee in an attempt at comforting. "I-I'm- I'm fine, see?" He gave him a small smile, still looking concerned for his friend.  
 _Why's he thinking that?_ Quackity wondered, his fuzzy brain trying to connect the dots. He didn't even consider Schlatt could be talking about the past- he chose to block out most of that.

"I-" He finally looked up- and no matter where he looked, Quackity wasn't hurt. No blood- no bruise- nothing. Finally, his brain forced him to realize that he wasn't in front of the white house- and he wasn't drunk. Relief flooded him as he took in his surroundings. He was home- he wasn't like that anymore. It was alright.  
"..o-oh fuck..." He sniffled- suddenly feeling very embarrassed for basically having a breakdown on his friend’s floor.

"W-we back, now?" Quackity asked quietly, watching Schlatt's gaze flit around the room. He took his hand off his knee and absentmindedly messed with his hands in his lap, studying the ghost's facial expressions as best as a drunk man could do. He giggled under his breath at his cursing, unable to stop himself, his smile becoming a bit wider as he sensed the situation de-escalating.  
"That was- What- I mean, uhm," he shook his head, "What just happened?"

"Yea, w-we're back..." He fiddled with the edges of his sleeves.  
"I- well... the alcohol er- the smell, just... It reminded me of some things.." He mumbled- not quite sure how to explain all the emotions he was just put through.  
"I just wasn't ready..." His voice broke somewhere in the sentence and his ears were still directed down, light throbs of pain from when he had tugged on them.

Quackity furrowed his eyebrows, licking his lips. _What? What does he-_  
"Oh." He said allowed. He recoiled back from Schlatt, suddenly self-conscious of the alcohol that was surely reeking off of him. A guilty look spread across his features as he raised a hand to his chest, fist clenched.  
"I-I'm sorry." He murmured, looking over him again. Checking. "I didn't even- I-" He gulped, "I didn't think of that."  
 _Fuck. Do I move away, or...?_ "D-do you want me to go-? I really didn't mean to freak you out, I'm sorry."

His face dropped a bit when Quackity moved away.  
"Oh n-no.. It's alright, you can stay, please stay," Even if he was dead now, and an awful person when alive (that was an understatement if you asked him), he remembered the sting of betrayal and abandonment clearly. After a memory like that, he didn't want to be alone.

Even at the ghost's reassurance, Quackity was hesitant. He nervously scooted closer, one leg bouncing slightly.  
"O-okay." He said, again surveying Schlatt.  
His eyes landed on his ears, which looked slightly irritated from his pulling on them earlier. He made a small noise, suddenly his hesitance disappearing. Without thinking he moved next to Schlatt, lifting one hand to gently stroke his ear. "Shit dude, are your ears good?" He fretted, petting it again. "You pulled on it r-really hard-"  
His eyes widened and he withdrew his hand. "Fuck. Sorry. I wasn't, uh, wasn't thinking."

The ghost’s ear flicked and he looked up a bit.  
"No, it's alright.. They are sore uhm it was... it was nice?" He mumbled sheepishly- not trying to make Quackity uncomfortable. No one had really touched his more goat-like features. He wasn't very protective of them, during times like Christmas he's even put tinsel on his horns, and when he was a teen he'd had pierced his ears. But as an adult- his personality would make it very hard for anyone to get close enough to him to even try. In short- Schlatt had never had anyone fuss over his ears or pet them, and he never knew he'd enjoy it.

Quackity raised his eyebrows, his hand still hovering in the air. "Nice?" He repeated, taking note of his sheepish look. He hesitantly starting petting it again, slowly in case it wasn't what Schlatt wanted. "Is... is this fine then?" He asked, watching the ghost carefully. He glanced at the fluffy ear he was petting, noticing it was pieced when he looked at it.  
"Oh-!" He said out loud. That's so fuckin' cool!  
 _..That.. gives me an idea..._

"Yea, it's alright," Schlatt mumbled, much more calmed now- still sniffling a bit considering he had just been sobbing, but he wasn't crying anymore, he even made a small humm in content. His head tilted a bit when he heard the 'oh'.  
"Hmm? What's up?"

"You're ears are pierced." He observed. "It's just.. it's cool, is all."  
Quackity made a humming noise, narrowing his eyes. "Y'know what, could you, uh- move forward a bit? S-so I can get- get behind you?" He asked tentatively, almost sounding a bit embarrassed himself. "I wanna try something, if that's okay."

Schlatt smiled lightly- ever since he stopped wearing earrings no one noticed. He nodded and shifted away from the couch so that Quackity could sit behind him  
"It's alright."

The shorter man shuffled behind him, face tinted a bit pink. "Okay, just like- lay back on me now." He mumbled, taking his hands and beginning to rub both of Schlatt's ears.

Schlatt melted into Quackitys pets, his ears relaxing as well. Leaning against the living man's chest made him feel much better- even with the smell of alcohol lingering around them. It's alright, he decided. His sniffles had died down and if he were living one would say he was on the verge of sleep- sadly he wouldn't be able to. But he was damn close to that familiar feeling.

Quackity felt himself drifting too, the petting slowing down as his eyes began to involuntarily close. He let his arms slack against Schlatt's sides as he starting losing consciousness. His breathing relaxed until his whole body slackened, the shorter man falling into a deep sleep with the ghost against him.

When he noticed Quackity had fallen asleep- he slowly stood up. Picking up Quackity, he put him on the couch and found a blanket to put over him. Draping it across him, he smiled almost sadly at the sleeping man- whispering to him quietly even though he knew he wouldn’t hear.

“Goodnight, Alex.”

**Author's Note:**

> ya'll know the drill  
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/213902947
> 
> quackity: fridge  
> schlatt: pillar
> 
> also, according to ao3’s statistics, only a small percentage of you actually give kudos. so if you like the story, hit that kudos button. it's free, and maybe you could leave a comment while you're at it! thank you and have a good rest of your day ❤️


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